Mike McCoy arrived in San Diego, a rookie head coach, planning to take an active role in all special teams.

“There are some things I know about the kicking game, and I was really going to get into it,” McCoy said. “The first day (of offseason workouts) last year, punt team is out there, I say ‘I’m going to watch this punter.’ And he launches this ball about 70 yards in the air, and I said, ‘OK, I’ve seen enough. I don’t need to worry about him.’ ”

Ah, the enduring certainty that is Mike Scifres.

He’s been booming punts so long, so high, so far, so consistently for so long that you just don’t have to worry about him.

He’s Old Faithful.

“It’s probably fitting,” Scifres said after a long laugh.

He was specifically agreeing to the “old” part, given that younger players increasingly look at him a certain way and eventually ask, “What season is it for you?”

The answer now is this will be his 12th.

Scifres has been a Charger as long as anyone. Longer, in fact, if just by a few hours, in that he was drafted in the fifth round and Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates were signed as free agents in 2003.

That’s one reason you can’t dismiss this as the obligatory passing mention of the punter during training camp. The other reason is the one at the heart of his longevity.

Fact is, Scifres is one of the best punters ever. And he might be getting better.

Two bold statements, supported by facts.

Scifres’ career net average of 38.6 is on its own not extraordinary. But what Scifres does must be measured with context.

He is often asked to kick from between the 40-yard marks, because the Chargers’ offense is usually not terrible and, thus, routinely moves the ball to near midfield. So Scifres’ main task is not necessarily to launch bombs but to make precision strikes.

To that end, there has hardly been anyone better.

Of his 629 career punts, 257 have been downed inside the 20. That’s 40.9 percent, highest in NFL history among those who have punted 600 times or more.

Because he kicks so high, forcing would-be returners to wait and giving the Chargers’ coverage team time to get down the field, just 263 of his punts have been returned. That’s 41.8 percent, lowest among all punters who have kicked at least 500 times since 2004.

His control, too, has enabled Scifres to kick into the end zone on just 53 (8.4 percent) of his career punts, the fourth-lowest ratio among those who have punted at least 600 times since ’04.

And 2013 was, arguably, one of Scifres’ best seasons.

Just 19 of 56 punts were returned, the league’s second-lowest percentage (33.9) last season. His one touchback was second-fewest among anyone who punted more than once. And his ridiculous 30 punts downed inside the 20-yard line gave him by far the highest percentage (53.6) of such results.

That is significant, certainly, because he is the Chargers’ punter this year but also because he’d might just be long after his contract is up in 2015.